The Sage Sagittarius arriving in Port Kembla on September 7. Photo: DAVE TEASE
A second crew member has died on the coal ship Sage Sagittarius which docked in Newcastle this morning.
Authorities were already investigating the death of a first crew member last week, which resulted in the ship being diverted to Port Kembla.
The Sage Sagittarius was due to take coal from the Kooragang wharves this morning but word of new trouble on the ship resulted in it being diverted instead to the Dyke Point wharves at Carrington.
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson confirmed that paramedics were called to the ship shortly before 8am.
They boarded the vessel after it docked but the seaman was already dead.
NSW Police were investigating.
Maritime Union of Australia branch secretary Glen Williams said the union believed the man had been injured in some way before he died.
The union said a crime scene had been set up around the ship. The International Transport Workers Federation, which alerted the public to the initial troubles on the vessel, is still investigating.
Australian Federal Police are investigating the first crew member's death amid union claims that the man may have met his death through foul play because he was going to raise allegations of poor pay and conditions on the ship.